New players? - Blue Tracker

#1 - Oct. 21, 2013, 1:04 p.m.

So one of my best friends (irl) decided it was time to give wow a try and get into it recently since he played a lot of diablo and wanted to make the shift...He wanted to be a tank and was naturally attracted to the Warrior. I've been guiding him as best as I can and just made this little alt to help heal him and support his leveling since being on a 90 only goes so far....I've been playing for a good 8 years now, so I know what I'm talking about to him but I think we all forget how much stuff we know about this game until you try explaining it all to someone who's never even heard the word "Org."

On to the point of this thread, I called it "new players" not to bash on new players but it's more about how they are supposed to learn with today's community. I had my friend practice tanking groups of normal enemies out in the feild and practice movement but since he is brand new, he obviously is not heirloom decked out... I crafted him all the best gear and bought him the best weapon and shield I could for his level just to try and give him a little leg up for his first dungeon...We go into the dungeon and I tell everyone this is his first dungeon ever and what is our group? 2 heirloomed out dps running ahead pulling everything and healing themselves, then !@#$%ing and complaining the tank is slow, even going so far as to make snide comments like "Love all the tanking you're doing scrub."

I don't understand how new players even stand a chance to learn nowadays with these kinds of people being the norm for pretty well all randoms while leveling...The other thing I realized right away is how disconnected the dungeon felt...What I mean by that is we ended up in BFD from our random queue and it just occurred to me my friend has absolutely no idea where this place is or anything about it...Back in the day, these dungeons meant more because we literally had to go to them... I'm seeing WoW from his perspective now and as much as all of us veterans appreciate anything to make our time faster or more convenient, it really is quite brutal on genuinely new players. I don't want to tell him to just go fury and tank later because the whole purpose of his char was to tank raids later, so I'm trying to figure out how to make this easier for him (other then the fact he's coming over this weekend with his computer) any suggestions?

Nethaera

Community Manager

#36 - Oct. 21, 2013, 3:34 p.m.

I actually just ran a Throne of the Tides on my Druid, and there was a new Mage who didn't know much about the class. We managed to teach her a few basics (how to buff us, how to use her AoE, basic spells to cast at enemies) and guided her through the instance. It was quite pleasant and enjoyable. At one point she got lost (didn't take the portal/gateway back to the entrance), so we all stopped and went back to find her.

When new players admit they're new, it seems to be that a lot of players are willing to help if the new player is willing to accept it. Not all new players are rosy cheeked, innocent, and willing to learn.

Great post.

I think it's a two way street. We're doing what we can on our end to balance between accessibility for new/newer players and still ramping up the complexity as you go along through the game. I think new players need to be willing to learn from vets too and vets need to be willing to teach a little until a new player learns more about what they need to learn to progress.

Even vets have difficulty now and then when they switch to new classes or new roles. Having others be willing to cut them a bit of a break makes that transition so much better.

Welcome to your friend Uyki and I am hoping that you can get some good advice from players who are experienced tanks and how they got their start.